‘Grand Theft Auto V’ Hits $1 Billion in Global Sales

Grand Theft Auto V is roaring to another video game milestone. 

The latest chapter in the Rockstar Games crime franchise has hit $1 billion in worldwide retail sales in three days, according to Take-Two Entertainment’s estimate.

The game — which allows players to control multiple characters in a plot centered in a city modeled after Los Angeles — had a reported combined budget of $265 million. 

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“Grand Theft Auto is a cultural phenomenon and Rockstar Games continues to redefine what can be achieved in interactive entertainment,” said Strauss Zelnick, chairman and CEO of Take-Two, in a statement touting the milestone. “We are incredibly proud of the extraordinary critical and commercial response to Grand Theft Auto V.”

The figure outpaces Activision Blizzard’s Call of Duty II: Black Ops, which took 15 days to hit that milestone after its release last November. 

Both Activision Blizzard and Take-Two Entertainment compared their respective title launches to the $1.5 billion global box-office haul by Marvel’s The Avengers in 2012. 

GTA V previously claimed the record for single-day sales, raking in $800 million upon release Tuesday. Call of Duty, the prior record-holder, had nabbed $500 million in first-day global sales upon release.

Another blockbuster title, Microsoft’s Halo 4, claimed $220 million in first-day sales last November.